Course: Earth Science Unit: Stars Topic: Color of stars
Instructional Objectives:
From this lesson students will be able to:
Explain the realtionship between temperature and color
Distinguish between hot and cold stars based on their color
Identify the spectral class of a star based on the color
Describe the realtionship between a wave's length and the color it displays
Apply knowledge of temperature and color to identify types of stars
Introduction:
The first three lessons of the unit covered the first main property of stars (magnitude). This next lesson will cover another property of stars that students will need to understand in order to classify a star and determine what type of star it is and how old it is. This lesson looks at the temperature of stars and colors they display. In this lesson students will explore the relationship between color and temperature by looking at the electromagnetic spectrum and wavelengths of light and colors they display. Students will be shown seven pictures of stars all of which are different colors Opening Activity.doc. Based on their colors students are to rank the stars in order from hottest to coolest based on the colors the star displays. The teacher will have students share the order they put their stars in. They will be listed on the board and the class will discuss why certain stars were put in the order that they were. After the discussion the teacher will show the correct order the stars should be in.
Body:
The teacher will give a lecture on the relationship between temperature and color. The teacher will use the Figure:Color Spectrum in stars.doc to illustrate the waves of the electromagnetic spectrum. It will be explained to the students that the longer the wavelength is, the more toward the red end of the spectrum it will be and the shorter the wavelength the closer it will be to the blue. From looking at the chart students will also notice that with the greater the heat intensity the shorter the wavelength is and vice versa. Therefore, hotter stars will appear blue and cooler stars will appear red.
Conclusion:
After, students will learn that stars can be classified based on their temperatures and the color they display. Students will be shown a table that lists the spectral classes along with the temperatures and star colors for each class Stellar Spectral Types. After, students will be given another handout containing several pictures of stars. Based on what they learned in class, students will rank the photos from hottest to coolest based on their colors and then write beneath each star what spectral class the star would be found in. By the end of this lesson students will be able to classify stars in a spectral class based on their temperature and the colors they display. Students will use this knowledge later in the unit when they learn about H-R diagrams and how stars are classified by astronomers. Color and temperature are important attributes that are looked at in an H-R diagram. Again, students will need to use this information later when they learn about the life cycle of stars because the color and temperature of a star changes as it ages.
Assessment:
Students will be assessed by:
Participation in class discussion
Completion of the in class worksheet:
Their ability to determine a star's temperature based on the star's color
Their ability to identify a star's spectral class based on the star's color and temperature
Their ability to explain the relationship between temperature, color, and wavelength
Unit: Stars
Topic: Color of stars
Instructional Objectives:
From this lesson students will be able to:
Introduction:
The first three lessons of the unit covered the first main property of stars (magnitude). This next lesson will cover another property of stars that students will need to understand in order to classify a star and determine what type of star it is and how old it is. This lesson looks at the temperature of stars and colors they display. In this lesson students will explore the relationship between color and temperature by looking at the electromagnetic spectrum and wavelengths of light and colors they display. Students will be shown seven pictures of stars all of which are different colors Opening Activity.doc. Based on their colors students are to rank the stars in order from hottest to coolest based on the colors the star displays. The teacher will have students share the order they put their stars in. They will be listed on the board and the class will discuss why certain stars were put in the order that they were. After the discussion the teacher will show the correct order the stars should be in.
Body:
The teacher will give a lecture on the relationship between temperature and color. The teacher will use the Figure:Color Spectrum in stars.doc to illustrate the waves of the electromagnetic spectrum. It will be explained to the students that the longer the wavelength is, the more toward the red end of the spectrum it will be and the shorter the wavelength the closer it will be to the blue. From looking at the chart students will also notice that with the greater the heat intensity the shorter the wavelength is and vice versa. Therefore, hotter stars will appear blue and cooler stars will appear red.
Conclusion:
After, students will learn that stars can be classified based on their temperatures and the color they display. Students will be shown a table that lists the spectral classes along with the temperatures and star colors for each class Stellar Spectral Types. After, students will be given another handout containing several pictures of stars. Based on what they learned in class, students will rank the photos from hottest to coolest based on their colors and then write beneath each star what spectral class the star would be found in. By the end of this lesson students will be able to classify stars in a spectral class based on their temperature and the colors they display. Students will use this knowledge later in the unit when they learn about H-R diagrams and how stars are classified by astronomers. Color and temperature are important attributes that are looked at in an H-R diagram. Again, students will need to use this information later when they learn about the life cycle of stars because the color and temperature of a star changes as it ages.
Assessment:
Students will be assessed by:
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